Some of the best coastal scenery in Europe awaits you here, pristine, deserted beaches and rugged cliffs will captivate you. Take the A22 or EN125 to Lagos, Lagos is a day trip all on its own so don’t include it on this itinerary there is simply not the time. Continue west along the EN125. At Vale Verde turn left on the EN537 to visit Praia da Luz and Burgau. Don’t turn north at Burgau keep going west along a much smaller coast road to Salema. These are all small fishing villages that are popular but not swamped with tourism. Great fish restaurants in all of them.

Changes in Scenery and landscape

Head north again until you hit the EN125 again and head west in the direction of Villa do Bispo and Sagres. You will notice that the landscape has changed drastically, very few trees and quite windswept, not unlike Cornwall in the UK, for much the same reason. At Sagres visit the Fortaleza de Sagres and the Cabo de Sao Vicente light house. The cliffs here are spectacular albeit dangerous, don’t go too close to the edge! You are also at the most South Western corner of Europe.

Retrace your steps to Vila do Bispo and find the north west corner of the village near the market, head out on the M1265 to Praia do Castelejo, this is one of the best unspoiled beaches in the Algarve, if not Portugal. Back to Vila do Bispo and then head north on the EN268. There are about a dozen small tracks that head west off this road to some spectacular and remote beaches, each about 4kms long, you may need a 2nd day to try some of these. Head north and (don’t miss this section), just 2-30 meters before the quaint village of Carrapateira there is a turn to the left that goes south west to Praia do Amado and from here a wonderful cliff top road that runs north, don’t take a right turn to Carrapateira but continue along the cliff road. There are some great cliff top board walks you can go on. Eventually this road will look down on Praia do Bordeira which is a kite surfers paradise and end up back on the EN268.

Historic Aljezur

Head north again. The EN268 will join the EN120 continue north in the direction of Aljezur which is an old village to explore with a castle and some excellent traditional restaurants. Drive through the narrow streets and keep going uphill to the castle (to save your legs). A few kms before Aljezur you will have passed a turning to the coast, if you have time, track-back and take the M1003-1 to Praia da Arrifana, a surfers haven with stunning scenery, fishing harbour and a small fort that was badly damaged by a tsunami in 1755 which stands atop a 200 foot cliff, yes a tsunami, seriously.

At this point you can turn back on the EN120 to Lagos about an hours drive. Or from Aljezur take the EN267 in an easterly direction towards Monchique. This is a delightful route via the village of Marmelete and then along a contour road to the EN266 just south of Monchique, turn right in the direction of Portimao, this route will take about one hour 15 minutes.

Spain has Paella, Portugal has Arroz Marisco and Canada has Spicy Seafood Rice….well it does now! We love Seafood of all types and in the winter when in Monchique Portugal at our villa we enjoy eating out and often at seafood restaurants, but also cook at home and I make my own versions of Arroz Marisco and even Paella sometimes but in Canada I resort to this dish and I think it’s my favourite.

The photo is the same dish but this one has more Salmon and less shellfish, this is just before the rice is added.

Ingredients for two people:

1 Cup of Basmati Rice

2 Medium white onions finely chopped

Half a dozen cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 cup of finely chopped green pepper

1 cup of finely chopped red pepper

Half cup of frozen garden peas

Cup of finely chopped mushrooms

750 grams of Seafood

Half cup of olive oil

4 teaspoons of Sambal Oelek

Sea salt

I have tried several types of chilli paste, Sambal Oelek has a distinct flavour that goes extremely well with Seafood.

The 750 Grams of seafood can be a mixture of any or all of the following, Salmon cut into 1″ cubes, frozen shelled prawns, squid, calamari, octopus, crab meat, clams, mussels, I usually buy a 3-400 gram frozen packet of mixed seafood and add our own prawns and salmon to make it up to 750gm. We use fresh caught wild salmon, we catch loads of the stuff in Canada and this is one way of using it up.

Let the frozen items defrost a couple of hours.

Start to cook the basmati rice in salted water until el dente

At the same time heat the olive oil in a large non stick wok or large frying pan, and fry off the, onion, garlic, peppers, peas and mushrooms for about 5-10 minutes turning constantly. Add more olive oil if it looks a bit dry and is not actually frying. Add the seafood and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, add the Sambal Oelek and cook five more minute continually turning the food. Again if it looks dry splash a bit more olive oil in. When the rice is done, strain and rinse with boiling water, drain very well and add it to the wok, turn the rice into the seafood mixture until all the white rice has been coated with the sauce. Season to taste if you like hot add more Sambal Oelek, or add more to taste when served.

Serve and enjoy. Goes well with dry or medium dry white wines and light beers.

Whether you are at home or staying at our villa rental in Algarve you might want to try your hand at authentic Portuguese chicken Piri Piri.

Buy the smallest and most tender chickens you can find and the more yellow the skin is the better. Dissect the chicken through the joints and cut the breast into manageable pieces, keep the skin and bone on but cut off any excess fat and discard. You can just buy drums and thighs if you like the dark meat, IMO they taste better than breast anyway.

There are many Piri Piri sauces in the local supermarket in Monchique, buy one and pour it over the chicken. You can add some fresh Piri Piri seeds from the garden if they are ready, be careful, don’t touch your eyes or anything sensitive after handling them! Add a handful of coarse salt, a shot or two of whiskey, half the juice of a lemon from the garden and leave for 24 hours in the fridge, turning the pieces over several times so that they get a good coating all over.

Chicken needs 40-45 minutes on the BBQ to make sure it is cooked through and not pink on the bone. So for this a supermarket bag of charcoal is not going to do it, 2 maybe but you don’t want to run out, so buy a big sackful from the vegetable shop with the plastic donkey on the Alferce road about 1/3 of a mile from the Intermarche on the left. A big sack is about 10-12 Euros whereas the Intermarche bags are about 5 Euros for about 1/6th of the quantity. You will then have plenty for several BBQs and what is left over the next guests will appreciate. Don’t skimp on the charcoal.

Use plenty of charcoal in the BBQ with a couple of fire lighters get it going and put the griddle in as low as possible so any fat on it burns off. Use the wire brush to give it a good clean, turn it over and do the other side. After about 20 minutes it should be ready but still too hot, level out the hot coals and damp it down by splashing cold water from a plastic drinking bottle. Keep that full and handy.

Put the chicken on the griddle the thickest pieces in the middle at the back and the thinnest and smallest pieces at the front and place at the highest level, make a note of the time and observe the underneath of the chicken. Don’t walk away from the BBQ you will need a helper to top up your beer or wine and your handy water bottle! Keep damping the coals if the chicken is cooking too quickly, the damping is to make the cooking period last the full 45 minutes. Keep turning the chicken every 3-5 minutes, it must not burn.

As the charcoal burns away keep pushing it to the back and add more charcoal at the front which in turn will be pushed back and more added at the front to replace it. After about 25-30 minutes you should be able to move the griddle down a notch or two, keep adding charcoal as required and or water to dampen, keep turning, it should not be burnt but the skin should be turning crispy and brown and the skin on the drumsticks should be pulling upwards from the end.

That’s about it, after 40-45 minutes it should be perfectly done. Enjoy!